Speaking as someone who has spent a few months there. Unfortunately Chattanooga is not a very good location for free thinkers or people that are not comfortable in a very fundamentalist environment. Average IQ in the area is not high. Not saying people shouldn't do this but do not underestimate the cultural clash, it's like going to a foreign country.

$1250 won't cover much moving expenses, shipping my car across country cost my employer $3000 during my last move, the moving fees were around $15,000 and I don't have as much stuff as most people.

The forgivable second mortage is rather limited as you have to choose from certain less desirable neighborhoods that the city wants to "revitalize". Outsiders looking for property will be shafted by local real estate developers. I strongly recommend anyone considering buying a property in Chattanooga review the property sales record history for the houses they look at. They are available on line and at the courthouse. You may be very surprised to find that the house the bible quoting agent says is a steal at $400,000 sold for $50,000 only two years ago. Renting is not an unreasonable choice instead, and at least you have your choice of neighborhoods rather than being corralled into certain ones with a surplus of properties owned by local insiders trying to get rid of them.

The city should not be paying for relocation and mortgages anyway. If companies want people to relocate it is a matter of course that they must pay full relocation, with no excuses. Expecting local government to subsidize necessary business expenses is not a reasonable expectation. Companies that can not afford normal business expenses like paying relocation costs of specialized and critical talent should stop complaining that they can not find the right people. Most likely they should not be in business to begin with as it is clear they are unable to generate enough revenue selling products to stay in business. Government taxing the populace to subsidize businesses that can not manage to cover normal business costs is a questionable economic strategy that likely does more harm than good in the long run.

This part of the cited article got my attention:

> The smart grid is also being used for security purposes, with police cars able to access surveillance video from public areas. If there’s suspicious activity in a park or downtown, officers across town can instantly flood the problem area with lights.

> That technology is in place in one third of the city this year and will increase over the next few years, Marston said.

The city is obviously bragging about this because they think it makes their newly created surveillance state seem like the latest in high tech wizardry and a signal that they are technologically advanced. It actually highlights something of the opposite. An announcement that the city had set up public wifi, set aside parkland that wasn't football related, established bike lanes, or had implemented a gifted program for students in the schools would be more indicative of a good place to live for adult engineers and other creative and knowledge workers.

Finally, a Geek is a Circus worker who bites the heads off of live chickens. For decades it was used as a severe insult, often preceding a beatdown by jocks. The term has been reclaimed by creative intellectuals among themselves, but is always a term of derision on some level when used by those outside this group, comparable to the n word with african americans and the d and f words in the gay and lesbian communities. Programs such as "Hunt the Geek" I find to be intrinsically insulting and disrespectful.

All this said and in closing, Chattanooga is not a bad city all told, and there are plenty worse places. Chattanooga has one of the nicest aquariums in the region, and has great rock climbing and hiking trails in the area. It's also within weekend trip distance of Atlanta, which can be a really fun city to visit with excellent restaurants and events. If considering this offer, go because you get a good employment offer and like the area and not because of the $1250 moving subsidy with a number of conditions. Also go with your eyes open and do not purchase any property until you understand how the local real estate market works, and realizing there is a substantial chance you will end up underwater and unable to sell and leave if you choose poorly.